I was gone most of the day… yesterday. I am GC’ing my wife’s restaurant and event center (yes, these are two separate businesses https://www.facebook.com/letseat.lolastable/), and I left the house at 7:30 AM and got back at 9:30 PM last night. And… here I thought I was retired! Today is just as busy. I met with the marketing director for my book at Noon by Zoom. But, back to Dodger baseball.
Paul DePodesta hired Dodger Senior VP Josh Byrnes yesterday to be the General Manager of the Powerhouse Colorado Rockies. The odds are it will not end well, but I wish him well. He was always going to be in Andrew Friedman’s shadow – so now he has a chance to build something of substance. The problem is that the owners of the Rockies are stone-cold morons, so the odds of success are greatly diminished. Nuff said!
The Dodgers may or may not replace him, or maybe Jeffrey Kingston could move into his role. The Dodgers won’t miss a beat!
Miguel Rojas signed a one-year deal for 2026, and he will reportedly jump right into a player development position with the Dodgers once his playing career ends. MiggyRo will be a Dodger one more year. Will Kike Kernandez? We shall see.
There are a lot of things that still need to happen with the Dodgers: namely, RF and 2B! The Dodgers have to bolster these positions… especially in light of the possibility that Mookie Betts is in offensive decline… and he may be. Personally, I think Mookie’s days of hitting .300 and 30 HR are gone. I am looking at him as a .270/20 HR guy. He is a great athlete and can play SS at a high level, but his bat speed is in immense decline. Maybe he can fix it – I doubt it! Realistically, this is the lineup I would like to see:
- Ohtani DH
- Smith C
- Freeman 1B
- T. Hernandez LF
- Muncy 3B
- Betts SS
- Duran CF
- Pages RF
- Kim/Rojas 2B
Make the deal for Duran. Just do it.
Excited about the restaurant, Mark. May 2026 bring you new achievements and successes.
That lineup looks plausible. Based on age alone, we probably should expect some regression from Freddie, Max, Mookie and Teo.
Adding Duran and playing Kim would add some youth and energy to this lineup, as would a plan to get Rushing more consistent ABs. Perhaps Rushing could get a dozen starts at 1B and a dozen in LF, thus giving Freddie and Teo some rest. Mookie could get some regular rest too. Of course we hope that Pages can put his slump behind him.
My hope is that Kim plays full-time at 2B until a pattern emerges that shows whether he needs a platoon with either Edman or Rojas. We already know that Max would benefit from a partial platoon.
LOL that lineup OLD AS HELL.
We are the third oldest team in baseball so getting younger is paramount to staying at the top. Testing Kim for a full season is a no brainer and I’m hoping Mookie plays like a star for the next two years. Mook will know when it’s time to hang em up and retire to broadcasting.
But let’s face it, Dodger fans, this is probably the last year of this elite group as we know it. How great would it be to squeeze another championship out of it. But the farm should provide good stock with a sprinkling of FAs and trades to keep this train rolling as it has for the 70 years I have loved this team. Go Dodgers!
The aging of the Dodgers’ core is probably the best argument for signing Kyle Tucker.
I’m not saying the Dodgers should sign him…. but he’s 4-5 years younger than Teo and Mookie. He’d bat anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the lineup. Hmm…
Shohei
Tucker
Smith
Freeman
Mookie
Max
Teo
Pages
Kim
Tucker would definitely solidify the lineup and fill the black hole in RF. Probably a ton of cash but the that’s one thing the Dodgers have and don’t seem afraid to spend it to clean up a mistake (Comforto).
I think with AF it will be FAs and trades and a sprinkling of the farm
Hard to find much to chew on. From what I’ve read:
1. Dodgers were in on Iglesias & Williams. Not in on Diaz. Suarez or Fairbanks more likely
2. Sniffing around Bellinger as shorter-term option. Resistant to long-term payouts.
3. Willing to add OF via trade.
4. Still Rushing being mentioned but there’s no chance we trade him now.
5. No existing players likely to be moved.
Agree with this.
Ardaya and Woo “anticipate” the Dodgers at the Winter Meetings in a recent article, but it’s devoid of good information and just s salad of names.
The fact is, if Freeman, Teo and Muncy are also in decline along with Mookie, then this is not a very good offense even with Duran. Second half of last year proved that. Need a bigger bat than Durans or another bat along with him. Some talk about a Teo trade.
Eno Sarris and Chandler Rome about how MLB teams evaluate player character: ($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6430563/2025/12/04/mlb-scouting-makeup-framber-valdez/
I definitely like the idea of moving Mookie down in the order. He’s not that guy anymore. Let him play gold glove defense and anchor the bottom half of the lineup.
How do you know? Remember he started the season down what 25 pounds?!?!? Tough to overcome that.
I think a fully Healthy Mookie is a top 10 player…
I hope I’m wrong and I surely could be but I agree with Mark that it’s unlikely he gets his bat speed back to where it was which is paramount for a pull hitter like Mookie.
he never had great bad speed, IIRC
Would much prefer Donovan to Duran. In our lineup Donovan finishes 2026 with a .360 or above OBP. Duran tops out at .330 OBP at best.
There is a decent possibility of Mookie and Freddie having better years. When the season started Freddie was still rehabbing from his ankle surgery. Mookie losing 20lbs to start the season had an obvious adverse effect on him. Throw in a short offseason being the last team to finish in 2024 and the first team to start in 2025 the two were never quite right. No doubt the team has to be looking to get younger but it’s not hard to believe these two could have better seasons in 2026.
I don’t believe Mookie ever had elite bat speed. I see a guy who didn’t have his strength and also someone who was dropping his hands lower than the ball consistently last year. If your hands are lower than the ball it a pop out or strikeout.
You are correct, he has always had below average bat speed. The problem is it was so bad last year it put him in the bottom percentile of all major leaguers. Pair that with reduced exit velocity, and that is a concern. I also think he will have a bounceback year but I’d be surprised if he ever hits 30+ HR again. And that’s fine if he can give them 20 with a .270+ BA and get on base at a decent clip that’s still one of the top SS in the league.
I wouldn’t say Freddie was ‘never quite right’. He started out pretty good beginning of year. Leading league in BA for a while or close to top anyway.
Rosenthal writes that Teo’s name is coming up in trade talks, but he doesn’t think it’ll necessarily happen.
So he saying there’s a chance
Bat speed is not everything, but Mookie Betts’ average bat speed for the 2025 MLB season is approximately 68.8 miles per hour (mph), which is below the league average of around 71.5 mph. While his raw bat speed is below average and has been declining, Mookie Betts is known for his elite barrel control, pitch recognition, and efficient bat path, which allow him to be a highly productive hitter despite the lower bat speed. He makes contact with the sweet spot of the bat very often, allowing him to achieve near-maximum attainable exit velocity for his swing speed.
His bat speed has been a topic of discussion due to a significant drop over the last couple of seasons, which has coincided with a dip in some of his power metrics in 2025. Betts has dealt with health issues, including weight loss due to an illness, which has impacted his power numbers and bat speed this season. That said, there are things that he can do to increase it nd I know that he knows all of this and is likely doing what he can do to rehabilitate that!
I think that the Reds could use Teoscar. He might hit 50 HR in that Park. At this stage of the game, I would take prospects for him.
Sheehan and Freeland for Duran.
Try this:
1. Ohtani DH
2. Smith C
3. Freeman 1B
4. Pages RF
5. Muncy 3B
6. Betts SS
7. Duran CF
8. Rushing/Call LF
9. Kim/Rojas 2B, but I would include Kim in a deal for Donovan and play him at 2B.
Betts hitting after Pages and Muncy is a wee bit moronic. Just another dime a dozen opinion. But, I’m willing to bat Ohtani 3rd or 4th.
You are thinking of the 35 HR/.900 OPS Mookie.
I am not sure we will see that Mookie again.
What is moronic is to bat your highest OPS guy lower than #1 or #2.
Do the math: You want a 1.000 OPS guy to have as many ABs as possible in a season.
But hey, 5 out of 4 people struggle with math.
Boston wanted Teo and could use a DH bat. They are far more likely even if an actual trade is unlikely
MLBTR mentioned that Teo had been discussed in trade talks with other teams but did not name teams. Boston and the Pirates made a 5-player trade today involving all prospects.
Yes, it’s a Rosenthal report. See above.
Signed Teo for 3 years a year ago. Dope fiend move???
It’s actually a team-friendly deal.
$17 M in 2025
$19.6 M in 2026 ($8 M deferred until 2032)
$22.1 M in 2027 (#8 M deferred until 2033)
2028 and 2029 the team has a $15 M option or a $6.5 Mil Buyout